Before he was elected to a seat in the Duma (Russia's parliament), Anatoly Kashpirovsky worked as a psychic, hypnotist and faith-healer. Since he lost his seat in the elections of last December, Kashpirovsky has refused to vacate his government-provided Moscow apartment. He says he does and will use his psychic powers to fight off anyone trying to evict him and will render him impotent. No indication what he will do if female officials try to evict him. Russian government officials have not yet announced what they will do about the problem. (AP)
A memo from the National Center for Science Education, regarding brilliance in the area of legislative grasp of science.
14 February 1996
Tennessee State Representative Zane Whitson has introduced a bill that would make it a crime to teach evolution in Tennessee. The bill, HB2972 in the house, and SB 3229 in the Senate, adds the following section to the Tennessee Code: Section 49-6-1012.
"No teacher or administrator in a local education agency shall teach the theory of evolution except as a scientific theory. Any teacher or administrator teaching such theory as fact commits insubordination, as defined in Section 49-5-5 01(s)(6), and shall be dismissed or suspended as provided in Section 49-5-511."
This legislation is scheduled for consideration by the House Education Committee, and the K-12 Subcommittee of the Senate Education Committee, on the morning of February 21 -- just a few days from now!
23 February 1996
The bill was voted out of committee in both houses, only one vote against in one house. It will probably pass.
A bill sponsored by Ohio State Rep. Ron Hood.
"Whenever a theory of the origin of humans, other living things, or the universe, that might commonly be referred to as 'evolution' is included in the instructional program provided by any school district or educational service center, both scientific evidence and arguments supporting or consistent with the theory and scientific evidence and arguments problematic for, inconsistent with, or not supporting the theory shall be included."
Caveats first, I'm neither a lawyer nor a scientist. I realize I may be missing something between the lines but, on the surface, I don't think I have a problem with this sentiment. I think all science should be taught in this way. I guess I'd remove words four thru 22 making it read "Whenever a theory is inluded in the instructional program ...".
On the other hand it's probably a poor idea to try to legislate good teaching techniques.
What's between the lines is that "evidence and arguments" includes arguments that have nothing to do with evidence, and the "evidence and arguments" "inconsistent" with evolution aren't even qualified (however spuriously) by the adjective "scientific"! So why not an argument unsupported by evidence? For example, the argument that evolution is a bad idea because (supposedly) people who think they are "just animals" will not behave morally. Or the claim that evolution and creationism are both equally scientific, and both equally religious?
If anyone would like to let Representative Hood know your feelings about his questionable legislation his address at the state house is:
State Representative Ron Hood
Riffe Center
77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43266-0603
Phone (in Columbus): 614-466-1464
House fax no.: 614-644-8744Mr. Hood is a republican from the Youngstown area.
Here is a quote from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
"I thought we had already been through the Scopes monkey trial", said Rep. Robert Hagan of Youngstown, the top Democrat on the House Education Committee, who said he would oppose the bill. Hood "doesn't understand that creation is an article of faith and that evolution is an article of science."
Are skeptics, that is people who endeavor to rely on science rather than superstition, also unbelievers or agnostics in regard to the God hypothesis? Undoubtedly many have no belief in the devine. The Skeptics Society recently polled its members, that is they sent out 5072 questionnaires and had twenty percent or 1019 returned. Here are the answers to the question: "Do you think there is a God, a purposeful higher intelligence that created the universe?" (in percent).
| Very likely | 20.7 |
| Possibly | 14.4 |
| Not very likely | 8.6 |
| Very unlikely | 26.4 |
| Definitely not | 33.3 |
Accordingly, slightly more than a third of skeptics share a belief in the possibility of God, while about sixty percent think Him or Her very unlikely. The fact that the percents add up to 103.4 makes me skeptical.
These results appeared in the journal Skeptic (vol. 3, no. 3, 1995, p. 10.) Skeptic is the major rival to the Skeptical Inquirer, it is published quarterly on the west coast by the Skeptics Society. Membership is $35.00 per year to: Skeptics Society, PO Box 338, Altadena, CA 91001.
The Skeptics Society sponsors a lecture series at Caltech (California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA). Their journal appears more willing than the SI to talk about religion or to take an anti-religious stance. It also appears willing to enter into argument about a legitimate scientific controversy, something I would advise against.
This story is told about the inventor of an early photographic process, Louis Daguerre.
Investor: "So how does this new picture making process of yours work?"
LD: "I expose this prepared plate in this little black box for about thirty minutes."
Investor: "And then you get a picture?"
LD: "Not exactly, I then take the plate into a dark side room and work on it with the developer."
Investor: "And then we see the picture?"
LD: "Not quite, it takes some time and more chemicals have to applied until the picture appears."
Investor: "Now look here, making pictures in a black box and having them appear in a dark room, any second rate psychic charlatan can do that."
This menace is driven by paranoia and error. By patriots I do not mean the soldiers who freed the American colonies from Britain, nor even the guerrillas who freed African colonies from Portuguese rule. The people who call themselves patriots in the United States at this time see the Federal Government as their enemy; they are best called False Patriots.1 I refer to the Militia movements, the Freemen-Sovereign Citizens, Identity believers, Posse Comitatus, and rolled in with them the Klansmen, the Skinheads, and neo-Nazis of all stripes. The murder of Denver talk show host Alan Berg, the explosion of the Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City, a string of bank robberies to finance the Patriot groups, and the derailment of the Amtrak train in Arizona are merely the best known of hate crime activity.
Their catalog of irrational beliefs is long, and not every group or individual shares all. In general, the government is the enemy, with focus on President Clinton, Attorney General Reno, the FBI, BATF, FEMA, IRS, EPA, Federal Reserve Bank, UN, NAFTA, and GATT. The government is evil and plotting to impose a New World Order abridging constitutional rights, especially the second amendment, with the help of the UN. Evidence for this plot is the shooting of the Weavers at Ruby Ridge and the disastrous fire of the Branch Davidians at Waco. Foreign troops and black, unmarked helicopters are operating on US soil, and are used to spy on us. An ID biochip will be implanted in your hand, and into new babies. Concentration camps are being readied to house Patriot resisters. Markings on the backs of road signs are directions to guide invading troops.
Most groups are restricted to white, adult, males and share some racist delusions against Blacks, Jews, Asians, or Hispanics. A large literature including old standbys and new fictions circulate. The patriot groups are skilled users of the internet, of radio talk shows, of short wave broadcast, and multiple fax communications.
Identity Church believers draw their ideas from the Anglo-Israel cult of the last century, which maintains the English speaking peoples are the ten lost tribes of Israel. Only they, white Christian men are the true Israel, the Jews are the spawn of Satan, while non-whites are Mud People. This leads them to the fantasy they are "sovereign citizens", not required to obey the (illegitimate) laws of the US or pay taxes. Many do not consider any government above the County level as legitimate. Some may establish their own "common law" courts. Patriots take it for granted, contrary to Supreme Court decisions, that the Second Amendment to the Constitution permits everyone to own weapons and to form private militias to defend against police and public officials.
Para-military armed groups in the Greater Cincinnati region are listed to exist in these counties, Dearborn, Ripley, and Switzerland, Indiana; Boone, Kentucky; and in Brown, Clermont, Hamilton, Montgomery, and Warren in Ohio. It is not known how big or how active any of these militias are, or how dangerous to the peace of the community.
1. The information for this article comes mainly from False Patriots, a report of the Southern Poverty Law Center, 1996, 72 pp. Their Klanwatch has been monitoring white supremacy and hate crime activity since 1979. (SPLC, 400 Washington Ave. Montgomery, AL 36104)
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